In printing, a treatment may be used for treating a colorant on a substrate. Generally, such treatment is aimed to improve print quality by enhancing fixation of colorant on the substrate. Such a treatment may include, for example, a pre-treatment component or a post-treatment component.
For example, a pre-treatment component may be applied on a portion of a substrate to enhance fixation (e.g., bonding and/or hardening) of a colorant to be subsequently applied on that portion of the substrate. If the colorant includes an ink, fixation may be desired to address coalescence, bleed, feathering, or similar effects characterized by ink or pigment migration across a printed surface. In other examples, post-treatment fluids may be applied in colorant already applied on the substrate. Such a post-treatment may be to provide a coating over the printed image. A treatment may be also applied quasi-simultaneously to the colorant.
Common methods for applying treatments on a substrate include roll coating, spray coating, manual application or treatment ejection, for example, through a jetting device.